StarTech.com HPE 720187-B21 Compatible QSFP+ Module - 40GBASE-SR4 - 40GbE Multi Mode Fiber Optic Transceiver - 40GE Gigabit Ethernet QSFP+ - MPO 150m - 850nm - DDM HPE BladeSystem, c-Class, FlexFabric 20/40

Product Overview

AI-generated summary

At £31.45 ex‑VAT, this is the sort of transceiver that’s genuinely useful if you’ve got the right HP/HPE blades and you’re just trying to get a link back up without paying “new OEM” pricing. StarTech compatible modules are usually a pretty decent value play for day-to-day datacentre patching, especially where the optics are short-reach (multimode) and you’re hitting the distances the platform expects. If your environment is stable and you’re not constantly swapping optics around, this is the kind of item that represents good spend-to-outcome.

I’d be a bit cautious only if you’re dealing with firmware/compatibility-sensitive HPE setups or you’ve seen “it works… until it doesn’t” behavior with third-party optics in your rack. Compatible QSFP+ modules can be perfectly fine, but the real-world risk is operational: occasional vendor-specific quirks, stricter DOM/DDM interpretation, or unexpected platform refusals—things that are annoying more than expensive. So: buy if you have confirmed compatibility with your exact HPE BladeSystem / FlexFabric context and you’re cost-sensitive; skip if you need guaranteed OEM behavior for a critical production system and you can’t afford any chance of commissioning delays.